NFL Power Rankings: Week Nine – Halloween Scares and Hope for the Jets

Halloween Week is here. Let’s take a look at the scariest scenario (excluding a quarterback injury) for each of the league’s elite teams in these JetNation NFL Power Rankings.

1. 1. Indianapolis Colts 7-1 (Last Week: 1)
      The Colts may not have been seriously tested, but they do a great job of routing the teams they do play. The upcoming trips to Pittsburgh and Kansas City should tell us how good Indy really is.

      Scariest Scenario: MVP candidate Jonathan Taylor leads the league in rushing and rushing touchdowns. The offensive line is excellent, but nobody else on the roster can do what Taylor does. Any downtime for the running back would be a nightmare for Indy.

1. 2. Detroit Lions 5-2 (Last Week: 2)
      The Lions got a bye week to figure out how to put Minnesota’s postseason hopes on life support.

      Scariest Scenario: Linebacker Jack Campbell has twenty-one more tackles than the next closest Lion defender. The Lions front seven would take a major step back if he missed any time.

1. 3. Philadelphia Eagles 6-2 (Last Week: 3)
      The Eagles avenged their woeful performance two weeks prior at the Giants. The team got Saquon Barkley going and looked more like the Super Bowl versions of themselves than at any other point in this season so far.

      Scariest Scenario: The team has had a taste of life without Tackle Lane Johnson, and it is bitter. Nothing seems to work as well on offense without Johnson in the lineup. An extended loss would put a shiver into the spine of any Philly fan.

1. 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-2 (Last Week: 4)
      The Bucs got by the Saints Sunday without top wideouts Mike Evans and rookie Emeka Egbuka. Evans is lost for multiple weeks. Tampa will need Egbuka back to weather their next three games (Pats, @Bills, @Rams).

      Scariest Scenario: Now that Tristan Wirfs is back, the scariest scenario for the Bucs is that Mike Evans goes down AND Emeka Egbuka is unable to play. The Bucs struggled offensively without both in New Orleans. They won’t survive long term without one of their top targets on the field.

1. 5. Green Bay Packers 5-1-1 (Last Week: 5)
      The Packers came back on Sunday night on the road in a very difficult place to play. It isn’t the formula the team wants to live by, but road wins are big wins any way you can get them.

      Scariest Scenario: Josh Jacobs is the only person on the roster with a rushing touchdown for Green Bay. Any significant time without Jacobs would scare the Packers from a decent night’s sleep.

1. 6. Los Angeles Rams 5-2 (Last Week: 6)
      The Rams got a bye before this week’s tuneup against New Orleans. After the Saints, Los Angeles faces San Francisco and Seattle in critical division tilts.

      Scariest Scenario: Tackle Rob Havenstein has missed three straight games. The Rams don’t run block well with all their starters in the lineup. Additional injuries along the line would derail the Rams long-term plans.

1. 7. Kansas City 4-3 (Last Week: 9)
      The Chiefs have dominated against lesser competition the last two weeks. Things get tough now with Buffalo, Denver, and Indianapolis coming up.

      Scariest Scenario: Travis Kelce is not what he once was, but the first-ballot Hall of Famer is still effective. The tight end leads KC in receptions and receiving yards and would be sorely missed by the Kansas City offense.

1. 8. Seattle Seahawks 5-2 (Last Week: 8)
      The Seahawks got a bye to get ready for the Commanders and two straight division matchups – home for the Cards and on the road against the Rams.

      Scariest Scenario: Earnest Jones IV has twenty-four more tackles than anyone else on the team, and the linebacker leads the team with three interceptions. Going without the do-it-all Jones is too scary to imagine for the ‘Hawks.

1. 9. Buffalo Bills 5-2 (Last Week: 10)
      The Bills ended their two-game losing streak by blasting the lowly Panthers. Nobody cares. This week’s matchup with the Chiefs will tell us if the Bills are still a power in the AFC.

      Scariest Scenario: James Cook is edging into the conversation for MVP. Cook is second in the league in rushing, and his backup has over 100 fewer carries. Buffalo is not capable of dealing with Cook being unavailable.

10. Denver Broncos 6-2 (Last Week: Unranked)
    Denver made the Cowboys’ defense look like they only had nine players on the field. Sunday was Denver’s fifth straight win.

    Scariest Scenario: Defensive player of the year Pat Surtain went out of Sunday’s game, and the drop-off in play was very noticeable for the Broncos secondary. Losing Surtain long-term will dent Denver’s postseason hopes.

29. New York Jets 1-7 (Last Week: 32)

The Jets avoided a winless and possibly history-making losing season with a huge comeback Sunday in Cincinnati, damaging the Bengals’ postseason hopes. The Jets were porous again on defense after two strong weeks. Missing Sauce Gardner made covering Ja’Mar Chase and Tee Higgins extremely difficult. After allowing only 26 points across the two previous games, the Jets gave up 38 to Cincinnati.

Sunday also marked the fifth straight game without a turnover, and New York remains last in the league with a -9 turnover ratio. The defense has just one takeaway this season.

The good news? The offense woke up in a big way. New York exploded for over 500 yards. Justin Fields returned from injury and turned in his best performance since Week One, throwing for 244 yards and a touchdown while avoiding interceptions. Breece Hall rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and even threw for one.

So here we are again. Hope. The cruelest Halloween trick of all. The Jets head into the bye week with momentum and a winnable matchup on deck against the Cleveland Browns. Both teams have the week off, and New York expects to have Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner back. The Browns are 0-4 on the road. The table is set.

I told myself I wasn’t going to do this again. But here we are. Two games in a row? I was scouting quarterbacks and planning for 0-17 two weeks ago. Now I’m doing playoff math and wondering if 10-7 sneaks into the postseason. I need to calm down before my Halloween candy turns into heartbreak.

Happy Halloween, Jet Fans.